Forgotten Hope
by Rafael Santos
Summary: 191 ASC - A sea of red smoke covers the sky, and swirls of brown, black, and grey create haunting patterns for generations to remember this day - The day Bending was outlawed. / FUTURE-FIC / OC / DISTOPIA / GRAPHIC / R&R PLEASE /


[ _**Forgotten Hope**_ ]  
- _By Raphael Santos -_

**[ TITLE ]:** Forgotten Hope  
**[ FANFIC ]:** Avatar: The Last Airbender/Legend of Korra  
**[ RATING ]:** T - Possible Upgrade  
**[ WARNINGS ]:** Strong themes, Graphic descriptions, Mentions of suicide/death/rape  
**[ AUTHOR NOTES ]: **Hello my good people. How are we all? Good, good? That's great! This is my first fanfic - on this account. I am no one new to writing fanfics, though I am to _Avatar: TLA/LoK_. Hopefully that doesn't put you off reading though! I had a very strong urge to write this - I don't even know where it came from. But hopefully you like it and continue to read on. **ETERNALLY GRATEFUL!**

**[ - - - - - ] **~** [ - - - - - ]**

**[ PROLOGUE ]**

_191 ASC - 150 Years Ago ..._

Flames dance and lick at the sky; rooftops covered with them. Each showing the start of the end, like an oversized candle. And with the smoke of the air, burning all eyes and throats it can reach and grab hold of. It's smothering, all consuming, and deadly in its thickness. A sky of red covers the sky, and swirls of brown, black, and grey create haunting patterns for generations to remember this day.

The day that Elemental Bending was outlawed.

Non-Benders had started to use Benders for their own personal gain, using new technologies called Inhibiters. These collar-like contraptions forced the Qi of a bender to be stopped in its tracks. Physical pain would course through a person who tried to access their Qi systems, throwing hundreds of knifes into the very core of their being. The "Masters" of these men, women and children would force them to use their gifts to do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, and however they wanted.

The world was in chaos. New technologies of mechanical canons that could be held in your hands, and communication devices which allowed someone to talk over great distances had become essential in the fight against Benders. To be shot down with these undersized canons from a distance gave the Non-Benders the advantage. And they evolved. Some of the miniature cannonballs would shock someone till they lay jolting on the ground, and others would explode upon impact. Not even the Waterbending Healers could fathom how to help those poor souls.

No bender was safe. Brothers and sisters would turn on each other, begging for immunity that would never come if they gave away the location of their kin. Children screaming for their parents who could not hear them; not because they didn't want to, but because the screams fell on death ears. Many orphans were created during these years, many sent off to correctional buildings where the bending would be beaten out of them. But of course, one cannot beat a natural gift out of someone. These beating were senseless; unneeded.

The watchful eyes of the Silencers were everywhere. Disguised as people fighting for Benders, and then betraying them the next day. Ruthless and dominating, they acted first and asked questions later. Any sight of a free Bender and they would be neutralized with an Inhibiter, and if they refused? One could only hope for death on their doors if they refused.

The new law was that all benders would be rostered on a database, everything about them taken down and put for the world to see. And in the months after, the auctions started. Bidding for your own personal slave Bender was the entire craze of the time. Treated like animals, caged and hungry. Even if they didn't have the "collars of doom" around their necks, they wouldn't be strong enough to bend anything. Those who weren't auctioned off, they faced a sad and painful life as a public slave. Anyone who saw them was able to use them for their will. Many young women and those older would often have their bodies used, and many – both men and women – would turn to harming themselves and death, seeing it as a way to make it end.

Bending went underground, veiled in secrecy. Of course the Silencers knew that it was happening, but they could not catch any of those said to be using the forbidden arts. Constantly on the move, they would try to keep one step ahead of the Silencers and above all – keep alive

And what of the Avatar you ask? A high price was given for anyone who could out the Avatar's location. Promises of basic needs and care would be provided for those who could ... for a short while. Avatar Korra was killed on sight by one of the mechanical mini-canons – now known as a gun – and the cycle started again. The hope that the Avatar would rise again was shot down – quite literally – every few years. It was a sad and short cycle. When the new location of the Avatar Child was known, the infant Avatar would be killed. Many infants were needlessly slaughtered for being misidentified as the Avatar, but he or she would always be found eventually, and the cycle would continue. None had captured the Avatar in their spiritual state, and therefore could not end the cycle. And so it continued, never ending, to this day ... And to our new Avatar.

**[ - - - - - ] ~ [ - - - - - ]**

**[ SECOND AUTHOR NOTES ]: **So that's the Prologue! It's very dark and such, but I guess that's the mood I was in when I wrote this. Please remember to **RATE &** **REVIEW** cause I don't know what you guys are thinking - **I CAN'T MINDBEND!**

**ASC - **After Sozin's Comet; This term is refering to the _FIRST _coming of Sozin's Comet, not the second. Therefore, when Aang comes out of the iceburg, it is 99 ASC. Korra was born in 153 ASC, so when she dies in 191 ASC, she is 38. And when the main body of the story is set, it will be 341 ASC.


End file.
